LOCAL STUDIES EDUCATION SERIES
THE BREAD
RIOTS
CIVIL UNREST IN 1847 AND 1867
"At this point a desperate fight was sustained for some time, in which
some terrible blows were given and taken."
- The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal
Wednesday, 13th November, 1867
In 1846 the potato crop failed and there
was a poor harvest, resulting in the price
of bread rising steeply, and this, in turn,
led to a feeling of discontent. Ultimately
rioting broke out across Devon,
including in Torquay. On 17th May,
1847, bakers' shops and flour stores were
attacked and plundered as angry men
and women, many of whom lived in
poverty in George Street, Swan Street
and Pimlico, swarmed up and down
Union Street and on to The Strand
before heading back up to Torre. The
rioters were aided by a decision of the
town's commissioners (the councillors of
the day) to economise on gas lighting by
removing the burners and lanterns for
the summer months, and so they were
able to move more freely in the dark.
Their main targets were those bakers
who were thought to have sold
underweight bread or refused to give
credit, but some shopkeepers, like Henry
Bowden, resisted and threatened to shoot
anyone who attempted to enter his
premises.
The crowd was eventually confronted by
two local magistrates, Mr March
Phillipps and Mr Vivian, backed up by a
posse of constables and tradesmen, and
after the Riot Act was read, several
prisoners were escorted to the town hall
and locked up. The following day a party
of navvies, who were working on the
new railway line, marched into town to
free those of their comrades who had
also been arrested. After a tense standoff their leader, James Hart, was seized
and armed coastguards and forty
members of the 5th Fusiliers, newly
arrived, helped restore order. The
prisoners were taken by ship to Exeter
for trial after the discovery of a plot to
rescue them should they have been taken
by road.
Of the twenty-nine men who appeared in
court most were discharged on their own
recognizance of £10 (about £340 today),
while twelve of their number were sent
down for varying lengths of time. One,
Daniel Stockman, a cabinet maker, who
had confronted a baker, Mr Butland,
over the weight of a loaf of bread he had
bought on the morning of the riot, was
sentenced to six weeks for his part in
proceedings. Later in the day, another,
James Hart, was given fourteen days.
But overall it was thought that they were
treated leniently, the Western Times
commenting that, "Severe sentences
would have excited feelings of
commiseration for the culprits."
1867 : The Riot Act [b]read again
There cannot be that many towns and
cities in the country that have had the
Riot Act read at all on their streets, let
alone twice, as is the case with Torquay.
It was proclaimed again on the night of
5th November, 1867, after the town had
erupted with a bread riot that was far
more confrontational and violent than
the events of twenty years before.
That year had started off on a radical
note when on 1st January, a huge march
in favour of the Reform Act (which was
intended to extend the franchise in urban
areas) processed through the streets of
Torquay and joined a mass
demonstration on Ellacombe Green. But
if the town's gentry thought the local
populace was content to merely air their
views peacefully then they were in for a
shock.
It was another sharp hike in the cost of
bread that provoked a repeat of 1847, as
on Bonfire Night bakers’ and butchers’
shops were smashed open, broken into
and looted, and it was reported that,
"The mob in Lower Union Street had
assumed formidable proportions, women
bringing supplies of heavy stones from
Ellacombe with which many serious
wounds were inflicted." And when the
same March Phillipps read the Riot Act
again once more, this time he was
jeered. Fierce fighting carried on
regardless between the rioters and the
police and personnel of the Volunteer
Artillery, Rifles and Engineers and the
magistrate himself received a nasty head
wound. During the mayhem a certain
Josiah Chudleigh slipped away and over
to Livermead to try and to cut the gas
main to plunge the town into darkness,
but was apprehended before he could
complete his work.
Although several prisoners were taken,
many were freed again, often by women.
"In fact, all through the night the women
appeared to be the most active in inciting
rioters to deeds of violence," said one
newspaper report. And even the
policemen who had infiltrated the crowd
with a brief to identify ringleaders
thought it prudent to quietly leave the
scene.
The arrival of fully-armed coastguards,
three hundred more special constables
and a detachment of Yeomanry Cavalry
helped tip the balance in favour of the
authorities, and the town was quiet again
by the early hours of the following
morning, though minor incidents
occurred until 11.30 the following night.
But Torquay would never be the same
again for the more genteel of its
residents.
 The Riot Act (1714) could be read by
local magistrates to a crowd of twelve or
more. It was formally called, "An Act for
preventing tumults and riotous assemblies,
and for more speedy and effectual
punishing of the rioters."
 Many South Devonians escaped
grinding poverty by scraping the fare
together (£3.10sh. for adults and £1.10sh.
children) and boarding the Elizabeth,
Isabella and Margaret, ships taking
emigrants from Torquay Harbour to
America and Canada.
 On 26th August, 1863, the remains of a
young man were discovered in a shallow
grave above Torre. It is thought that he may
have been killed during the rioting of 1847.
The following year two more skeletons of
men were dug up in Babbacombe Road. It
is not known if they were also victims of
the riots.
 You can read full contemporary reports
about the riots in the Torquay and Tor
Directory for Friday, 21st May, 1847, and
the Torquay Directory and South Devon
Journal of Wednesday, 13th November and
Wednesday, 27th November, 1867, at
Torquay Library.
This leaflet was produced in
collaboration with Torquay Library
Local History Group, with particular
thanks to Jack Critchlow. If you are
intersted in joining the group, please
speak to a member of staff.
Further research on local history
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